Free-standing drawer

ABSTRACT

A free-standing drawer is provided for operational positioning under a bed or the like. The bottom wall of the drawer comprises a pair of panels and a rigidifying center support board therebetween. The drawer may be packaged and sold in knocked-down form so that the multi-panel bottom wall permits economic use of the minimum size package. Sliding doors are provided for use with molded door jambs and door tracks operationally supporting said doors.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to knock-down drawer assemblies and, moreparticularly, to a knock-down drawer which can be assembled into afree-standing and readily movable storage facility.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND TECHNICAL PROBLEMS POSED BY THE PRIORART

A problem frequently encountered in the home is the need for adequate oradditional drawer storage space. Purchase of expensive pieces of drawerfurniture, such as bureaus and chests, is not always possible foreconomic reasons, or feasible for lack of room area or the like. The useof non-drawer storage facilities, such as foot lockers or cedar chests,may be unsatisfactory for obvious reasons of convenience and ungainlyappearance.

In many instances, unutilized room area is generally available. Forexample, the areas under beds or high-legged drawer chests and seatingfurniture invariably comprise available but unused space.

It would therefore be desirable to provide a storage facility which maybe positioned in heretofore wasted areas like those under beds orstanding drawer chests. It would also be desirable if such a storagefacility comprised a readily accesible drawer which could be easilyopened and closed as frequently as desired. Moreover, such a drawerdesirably should comprise an inexpensive but nonetheless attractive roomaddition.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a free-standing drawer adapted to bepositioned in heretofore unused areas, such as beneath a bed orhigh-legged chest of drawers. Postioning and use of the inventionrequires no special frames or mounting means.

The drawer comprises a low profile structure and includes roller meansso that the drawer may be conveniently rolled out from, and back into,its storage position under a bed or the like. Slidable cover means areprovided so that the contents of the drawer are protected from dirt anddust while stored.

The drawer invention may be conveniently packaged and sold in knockeddown form for simple assembly by the purchaser. In this regard, thebottom wall of the drawer comprises a plurality of interconnectablepanel sections so that each separate section is smaller than the fulldimension of the assembled bottom wall. As a result, the knocked downdrawer parts may be economically packaged in a container of minimumsize. Additionally, support means is provided for operationallyconnecting the bottom panel sections so that the assembled bottom wallis greatly rigidified and strengthened.

The invention may be inexpensively fabricated from commonmass-producible materials, such as plastics and particle board, whichare durable and can be made in attractive simulated wood finishes toblend with other existing furniture.

Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention willbecome readily apparent from the following detailed description of theinvention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims, and from theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of free-standing drawersembodying the principles of the invention shown as operationallypositioned under a bed;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the disassembled parts of thedrawer;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along the plane 3--3in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along the plane 4--4in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a greatly enlarged, fragmentary, perspective view of a doorjamb of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the door jamb operationallymounted on a side panel of the drawer; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a modified embodiment of thefree-standing drawer of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring with greater particularity to the various Figures of thedrawings, the reference numeral 10 indicates generally a free-standingdrawer embodying the principles of the invention. Typically, the drawer10 will be packaged and sold in knocked down form with the individualparts disassembled as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The disassembled drawer parts comprise a pair of side walls or panels12, 12, a back wall or panel 14, and a front wall or panel 16. Asillustrated in FIG. 2, each of the side wall panels 12 is formed with anouter groove 20 and an oppositely opening inner groove 22 adjacent thetop edge of the panel. The grooves 20 and 22 are parallel to the paneltop edge and extend over the full length of the panel between thelateral edges thereof. Adjacent to the bottom edge of each panel 12,there is provided an inner bottom groove 24 extending between thelateral edges of the panel.

The back wall panel 14 and front wall panel 16 each similarly include anouter top groove 26, an inner top groove 28, and an inner bottom groove30.

Each of the wall panels is formed with variously positioned holesadjacent their lateral edges adapted to receive suitable connectors,such as the screws illustrated, for operationally assembling the panelsinto the walls of the drawer 10. The front wall panel 16 is also formedwith central holes for connection thereto of a handle 32.

A bottom wall 35 is provided to be supported in part by the bottomgrooves 24 and 30 of the operationally assembled wall panels 12, 14, and16. As best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bottom wall 35 comprises apair of bottom wall panels 36, 36, and a center support means 38. In theembodiment illustrated, the center support means 38 comprises a board ofthe same length as the back and front wall panels 14 and 16 and has alongitudinal groove 40 formed in each of the longitudinal edges thereof.

When operationally assembled, the center support means or board 38 isrigidly connected between the side wall panels 12 by suitableconnectors, such as screws. The bottom wall panels 36 are then eachsupported on three sides thereof by the wall bottom grooves 24, 24, and30, and on the fourth side, or innermost side, by the grooves 40 in thecenter support means 38. It will thus be appreciated that the bottomwall 35 is rigidified and strengthened by the slightly thicker centersupport 38 to prevent or reduce sagging or bowing of the bottom wallunder the weight of contents carried thereon.

A door jamb 41 is mounted on each of the side wall panels 12, and a doortrack 43 is mounted on the back wall panel 14 and front wall panel 16.The jambs and tracks are adapted to operationally guide and retainsliding door panels 45, 45.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 5 and 6, it will be seen that the doorjamb 41 comprises an elongated channel-shaped member having a web 46,and depending legs 48, 48. Integrally formed on the inner face of eachof the legs 48 is an upwardly projecting finger 50. A stop wall 52 and aclosure wall 54 project upwardly and inwardly, respectively, from theweb 46 for cooperating therewith to provide a jamb for receiving thelateral edges of the sliding door panels 45 in a manner which willbecome apparent as the description proceeds. An angled guide lip 56extends inwardly from the web 46 for insuring smooth entry of eachsliding door panel 45 into the jamb 41.

The entire door jamb 41 may be integrally molded from a resilientplastic and is shaped so that the depending channel legs 48 are normallyangled or biased slightly toward each other (see FIG. 5). Tooperationally mount the door jamb 41 on a side wall panel 12, it issimply necessary to spread the channel legs 48 and press the jamb 41over the top of the side wall panel 12 until the fingers 50 snap intothe outer and inner top grooves 20 and 22 (see FIGS. 4 and 6).

Door tracks 43 are of similar integrally molded construction. As bestillustrated in FIG. 3, each track 43 comprises a channel-shaped memberhaving a web 58 and depending legs 60, 60, with angled fingers 62 forsnap-fitting the same over the top edge of an associated back wall orfront wall panel 14 or 16 (see FIG. 3). A vertical wall 64 and coverwall 66 project upwardly and inwardly, respectively, from the web 58 andcooperate therewith to provide a track for the door panels 45.

The door panels 45 are dimensioned to partially overlap at the center ofthe drawer 10 when the drawer is closed, and suitable recessed pulls 80,knobs, or other appropriate means may be provided for operating the doorpanels 45.

Roller means, such as wheels 68, are provided for supporting the drawer10 and permitting easy movement thereof during use. In the preferredembodiment illustrated, the wheels 68 are rotatably mounted from theside wall panels 12 by suitable conventional bolts and bushings (notshown). Wheel mounting holes are provided in the side wall panels 12,and pairs of such holes may be provided at varying vertical spacing fromthe bottom edges of the panels 12 to accommodate drawer use on a varietyof supporting surfaces, such as hardwood or deep pile carpeting.

The construction, operation, and advantages of the drawer 10 should nowbe apparent to those skilled in the art. It will be noted thatinexpensive materials of construction, such as relatively thin pressedboard panels, may be employed for the drawer bottom wall and doorswithout excessive bowing or sagging of such materials which mightotherwide occur. For example, the center support 38 and multiple bottomwall panels 36 cooperate to provide a sturdy bottom wall and likewisepermit knocked down packaging in a shipping container of cost effectiveminimum size. The free-standing form with wheeled support enables easyaccess to the drawer interior and return to the stored position under abed or the like.

It should likewise be apparent that the invention admits to a variety ofstyling changes and simulated wood finishes to match a desired room andfurniture decor. A modified style of the invention is illustrated inFIG. 7 wherein similar parts are identified by similar referencenumerals with the suffix "a." It will there be seen that the drawer 10aincludes side walls 12a, 12a which have ventilator means or louvers 70provided therein. Attached to the front wall 16a is an elongatedhandlebar 32a which extends substantially over the entire length of saidfront wall. Wheels 72 are mounted from the bottom wall by means ofdepending brackets 74. Roller casters, or the like, could also besubstituted for the wheels 72. Operation of drawer 10a is the same asthat of the preferred embodiment of the drawer 10 discussed above withreference to FIGS. 1-6.

It will be readily observed from the foregoing detailed description ofthe invention and the illustrative embodiments thereof that numerousvariations and modifications may be effected without departing from thetrue spirit and scope of the novel concept of the principles of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A free-standing drawer adapted for operationalpositioning under a bed or the like comprising:a pair of side walls, aback wall, and a front wall; a multi-panel bottom wall supported betweensaid side, back, and front walls; support means interconnecting saidbottom wall panels; door means mounted on said side, back, and frontwalls closing the top of said drawer and movable to provide access tothe interior thereof, said door means including a pair of sliding doorpanels and further including jamb means and track means mounted on saiddrawer walls for operationally guiding said door panels therein, saidtrack means including a pair of elongated integral track members eachhaving a pair of legs defining a channel, said track legs being normallyangled toward each other, the track legs of one of said track membersbeing snap-fittingly mounted on the top of said back wall and the tracklegs of the other of said track members being snap-fittingly mounted onthe top of said front wall; and roller means supporting said drawerwhereby said drawer may be readily rolled out from, and back under, saidbed or the like.
 2. A free-standing drawer adapted for operationalpositioning under a bed or the like comprising:a pair of side walls, aback wall, and a front wall; a multi-panel bottom wall supported betweensaid side, back, and front walls; support means interconnecting saidbottom wall panels; door means mounted on said side, back, and frontwalls closing the top of said drawer and movable to provide access tothe interior thereof, said door means including a pair of sliding doorpanels and further including jamb means and track means mounted on saiddrawer walls for operationally guiding said door panels therein, saidjamb means including a pair of elongated integral jamb members eachhaving a pair of jamb legs defining a channel, each jamb member having adoor guide lip projecting from a base of one of said jamb legs, saidjamb legs being normally angled toward each other, the jamb legs of eachof said jamb members being snap-fittingly mounted on the top of one ofsaid drawer side walls; and roller means supporting said drawer wherebysaid drawer may be readily rolled out from, and back under, said bed orthe like.
 3. A free-standing drawer adapted to be operationallypositioned under a bed or the like comprising:a pair of vertical sidewalls, a vertical back wall, and a vertical front wall, said walls beingconnected together in generally right angle relationship; each of saidwalls defining inner and outer top grooves adjacent the wall top anddefining an inner bottom groove adjacent the wall bottom; a centersupport board fixedly connected between said side walls and defining alongitudinal groove in each longitudinal edge of said board; a pair ofbottom wall panels operationally retained in said wall inner bottomgrooves and in said center support board longitudinal grooves to providethe bottom of said drawer; a pair of sliding door panels closing saiddrawer and slidable to provide access to the interior thereof; and jamband track means mounted on said drawer walls for operationally guidingsaid door panels, said jamb and track means including an opposed pair ofelongated integral jamb members and an opposed pair of elongatedintegral track members, respectively, each member having a pair of legsdefining a channel with the legs, said jamb members being snap-fittinglymounted over the tops of said side walls whereby said legs cooperatewith the associated inner and outer top grooves, and said track membersbeing snap-fittingly mounted over the tops of said back and front wallswhereby said legs cooperate with the associated inner and outer topgrooves.
 4. A drawer according to claim 3 wherein each said jamb memberincludes a projecting lip portion for guiding the marginal portions ofone of said door panels into said jamb member.
 5. A drawer according toclaim 3 wherein each member leg includes a projecting finger for beingreceived in one of said grooves.
 6. A drawer according to claim 3further including wheels mounted from the lower corners of said drawerwhereby said drawer may be readily rolled out from and back under saidbed or the like.